Blitzkrieg: Lightning War
by Kur8Kami117
Summary: Mercer Fulmens has found out she's a demigod, the first child of Zeus since Thalia Grace. Almost everything at Camp Half-Blood is perfect, but she doesn't know what to think about a certain son of Ares. Title is not meant to be offensive; it just symbolizes the main pairing. Most characters are OCs. Rated T for swearing. Reviews are appreciated.
1. Mercer's Arrival

**A/N:** Hi everyone! This is a Christmas gift for my friend, LightThemUp. Check out her work because it's excellent. This will probably be a few chapters, but I'm not sure how many. It takes place after HoO. Also, Mercer is supposed to act kind of like Annabeth and Thalia, only a bit more interested in hair. I hope I kept her in character because she's technically LightThemUp's character, but I got permission to use her. I also want to specify that this is NOT a romance between Mercer and Manny. I'm planning on introducing Mercer's future boyfriend in the next chapter. As always, reviews and constructive criticism are highly appreciated. Also, please read my other PJO fanfic, Holiday Week. I am in dire need of suggestions for Halloween costumes. Happy Holidays! Enjoy! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own PJO, HoO, or all of these OC's (some of them belong to LightThemUp). I can't say I fully own the idea because I'm fulfilling a request from her. Still, I DO own the way I choose to right this, though.

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Mercer Fulmens was a very imaginative girl, but that did not mean she was gullible. Still, she had no choice but to follow as Manny Erubief dragged her through the thick underbrush that filled the back pocket of her small, ramshackle school campus.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to me?!" she yelped as a tree branch snapped into her face. Her soft waves of toffee colored hair were now tangled from being slapped and screwed into twigs, and she was certain that the silvery bow her mother had given her for her fifteenth birthday had fallen somewhere outside the cafeteria shortly after her deranged homeroom member had grabbed her. Yes, homeroom member. Mercer didn't consider Manny a friend, and he wasn't intelligent enough to be in any of her classes. The only times they'd actually interacted were when he would run around the cafeteria stealing bits of her lunch to throw at cheerleaders. She would often spot him doing ridiculous things such as kissing trees and eating paper bags along with his lunch, most likely to attract attention. She found his shenanigans amusing at times; however, she definitely didn't want to be a part of them.

"I'm taking you to Camp!" he bleated. For some reason, his long, dark ponytail of dreadlocks, definitely longer than Oriole High School's student handbook allowed, seemed immune to the trees' abuse.

"Camping?!" yelled Mercer. "Not in the middle of school!"

"I mean a summer camp!"

"But it isn't summer!" said Mercer. In fact, it was the middle of November. What kind of a summer camp would be open in the middle of the school year? And why was Manny abducting her? Despite his immaturity, he didn't seem like the criminal type. Unlike her. Despite her good grades, she kept getting kicked out of school since second grade for reasons she didn't understand. Like in third grade when she punched a bully in the face who ended up in the hospital for his heart stopping. Or when there was a school wide power out last year, when she was in 8th grade, right when she was taking her final exam for Algebra II on a school computer. Math was one of the few subjects that caused Mercer difficulty.

"Camp's open year round!" said Manny. "And can't you run a little quieter?"

"I shouldn't be quiet when I'm GETTING KIDNAPPED!" She attempted to punch Manny in the face, but he somehow managed to dodge.

"We're trying to escape from the empousa," he said. "They're jealous of you because the guys in our school think you're prettier than them. Plus, they might want to eat you, too."

"_Empousa?" _asked Mercer. The term sounded familiar, but she couldn't recall where she heard it other than that it was probably from a book she read. Was it _Harry Potter_? _Lord of the Rings_?

"They're the demon cheerleaders," he said. Mercer looked behind her, and to her surprise, the meanest cheerleaders in her school were chasing them. Their makeup was smeared, and their eyes glowed red like headlights on a car. Mercer would have found it amusing in other circumstances, but not when she was running to who knows where with the most annoying kid in her grade. And that the cheerleaders' legs looked different. Each had one gleaming metallic and the other dark and shaggy. She thought she must have been hallucinating, but she laughed anyway. Unlike Manny's, their hair was also tangled with leaves and other forest debris. Her laughter ceased when their hair burst into flames.

"I really wish I decided to station myself at Yellowstone instead of some high school in the middle of nowhere," sighed Manny ruefully.

"What do you mean by _station yourself?"_ asked Mercer, continuing to look at the empousa, who were gaining on them. "Didn't your parents choose this school for you?"

"Nope!" answered Manny cheerfully. "I chose this place because I didn't expect any Half-Bloods to be here since most of them don't get good enough grades. I could keep getting held back each year claiming to be waiting for some to show up while in reality, I could relax and party with these shapely trees without having to worry about monsters. Unfortunately, my dreams of peace and safety crashed when you showed up. Now, I have to drag you all the way to New York saving you from these bitches."

"You seriously can't be taking me to New York. Did you drug me?"

"Nope. You're becoming _undrugged._ You're seeing through the Mist, and Camp's in New York."

Mercer couldn't see any mist, unless if she counted the smoke crawling off the cheerleaders' locks of flame. She took her hazel eyes off the empousa for a moment to glare at Manny.

"What mist?" she asked. "I only see the smoke from the cheerleaders and the fog from our breath, and I don't think you're referring to either."

"The Mist is a magical force that distorts the vision of mortals because they can't handle looking at monsters, but it sometimes works on demigods like you, too."

"I'M NOT A DEMIGOD!" said Mercer, now realizing that Manny was calling her one. "I've read mythology books, and it's obvious that I'm not Hercules or Theseus."

"You're right about that," said Manny. "But you look identical to Helen of Troy."

"Stop flirting with me," said Mercer angrily, not expecting Manny to be the type interested in Greek mythology. She wished she brought her pocketknife so she could get Manny to explain what was going on. Sadly, all she had when Manny grabbed her was her cell phone in the pocket of her black leather jacket. Instead of explaining what the hell he was doing, Manny was telling her a bunch of lies about her being a child of an Olympian. Her mom was certainly human, and her dad had been struck by a lightning bolt before she was born.

"I'm not flirting with you," said Manny. "I'd rather date a weed. It's just that we have portraits of Helen at camp, and she looks just like you. AAAAAAAH!"

Mercer turned around, and the empousa were right behind them. She wished she had a weapon.

"How dare you steal our guys!" hissed the one named Jamie. "We will eat you!" She bared her fangs.

"I'm not dating anyone!" said Mercer as she continued to run after Manny, who had pulled something out of his pocket. She prayed to whoever was up there that it would kill the empousa.

"Hold on!" said Manny. He shoved the object against his lips and blew, issuing a light, lifting melody. Mercer felt something wrap around her, and she looked down to find a huge branch coiled around her waist. Manny was wrapped in one, too. The branches began lifting them up as Manny's tune quickened. Mercer looked down and saw the empousa doing some cheerleading move in an attempt to reach them. Just as Jamie's manicured claws were about to wrap around her ankle, she felt a jolt. Suddenly, the empousa were gone. The air had gotten colder. Mercer and Manny were sitting in front of a huge pine tree that somehow managed to retain its thick, green needles despite the cool autumn weather.

Manny smiled at her. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."


	2. The Two Dragons

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've been very busy lately doing all sorts of work, and I hope that all of you will forgive me. Also, Mercer's love interest isn't in this chapter, but I plan on putting him in the next one. I would also like to thank LightThemUp and Child-of-Strength for reviewing. I highly appreciate reviews and constructive criticism because they let me know whether or not people like my work, and they alert me if I've committed the mortal sin of birthing a Mary Sue. I hope all of you enjoy, and that I get more reviews. Be prepared for some familiar faces! :)

**Disclaimer:** Rick Riordan owns PJO and HoO, and I'm not him. LightThemUp gave me a request, so she owns the main pairing. What do I own? A few of the OCs, my imagination, and a [SPOILER ALERT] sketch of a leoPhone. [END SPOILER]

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Mercer looked closer at the curling vines laced around the pine tree and yelped. What previously looked like everyday foliage had morphed into a colossal, draconic beast. Hearing the sound, the creature unwinded its massive, coppery coils as it lowered itself until Mercer's terrified hazel eyes were level with its narrow slits of black submerged in irises of cool amber. The monster's head alone was the size of a table, and it could, without a doubt, swallow a grown man whole. Mercer was much shorter than a grown man.

Mercer didn't dare to move, even when the creature slowly opened its gaping jaws. Its maw was yet to be fully opened, but even then, it was wide enough for her to stand up inside, not that she desired to partake in such a maniacal action. She took in the sight of layers of knife-sharp fangs, which could possibly be venomous, and smelled the heavy scent of its breath. To her surprise, the aroma was more akin to saucy barbecue than rotted flesh. It stuck out its forked pink tongue, perhaps to get a taste of her before swallowing her whole like the snakes did to rats in pictures from animal encyclopedias. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to meet her doom… but it never came.

Upon feeling a rough wetness instead of an agonizing crunch, Mercer dared to open her eyes. The reptile had decided to lick her, not eat her. It ran its huge tongue up her body as if it were a dog. After the tongue retreated back into its mouth, the serpent gave a deep hiss before closing its eyes in slumber. Despite being covered in saliva, Mercer sighed in relief.

Mercer turned around to find that Manny was giggling. "What the hell is so funny?"

"Your expression," Manny managed to choke out through his laughter. "When you saw Peleus… It was hilarious!"

"I thought that Peleus was Achilles's dad. Don't tell me he got turned into a dragon."

"He's the drakon that guards the Golden Fleece," snickered Manny. "And he doesn't eat Half-Bloods." Mercer looked up to see the fleece, which was quite easy to miss when placed aside the drakon's coppery hide. When Manny continued laughing, she punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That hurt!"

Mercer ignored him. "So, how did you get us here?" she asked.

"I used treeportation! If I play the song on my pipes, the trees will transport me to whatever tree I want to go to."

"I'm guessing that you're a child of Demeter or Apollo because your power involves plants and music."

Manny gave her an unsettling grin. "I'll show you what I am." He proceeded to unbuckle his pants. Mercer tried to cover her eyes, but he pulled her hand away.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked.

"Be patient! It's not what you think." She heard his pants drop.

Curiosity got the better of her. Instead of witnessing a sight more gruesome than the jaws of Peleus, her eyes met coarse, hairy fur so thick that she did not see anything traumatic. As Manny kicked off his battered sneakers, she found that not feet but hooves were in the shoes. He had _goat legs._

"Ta-da! I'm a satyr! A protector of nature, seeker of demigods, and dater of-" a small tree branch hit him on the head. "Trees."

Mercer took her turn to snicker and walked past the pine tree. Manny followed. She briefly felt a slight vibration, deep like bass notes. "What was that?"

"It's the barrier. Now that you're inside Camp, you're safe from monsters."

Just as soon as he said that, there came a loud rustling sound coming from the other trees. An artificial looking bronze dragon head poked out from the leaves and snorted at Mercer, sending fumes that smelled suspiciously like Tabasco sauce. She turned to Manny as the dragon regarded her with intelligent ruby eyes. "If I'm safe from monsters, then what is this?"

"This is Festus!" came a voice from behind the mechanical dragon, which stepped farther out from the greenery to reveal a Latino rider in his mid-thirties. He flashed Mercer a wild grin. "My name is Leo Valdez. I was taking Festus on a walk, but he scented something and ran over here. I'm glad that this time it was a new camper and not a constipated harpy." He ran his nimble fingers through his raven colored curls and laughed. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! What's your name?"

"I'm Mercer Fulmens. Nice to meet you too, Mr. Valdez"

The man smiled. "I prefer the title 'Captain of the Argo II,' but 'Mr. Valdez' is fine. Just don't call me 'Head Mechanic' or 'Repair Dude' because that's way too boring."

Mercer smiled back at him. He seemed nice, and he was funny without pissing her off… unlike Manny.

"By the way, do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah," said Mercer. She pulled the aqua colored object out from her leather jacket. Thankfully, it wasn't covered in drakon spit.

"That's going to be a problem." Mercer looked at him curiously, then in horror as Festus the dragon thrust his shiny snout into her outstretched hand and swallowed it. The gears in his throat squeaked and spun as it traveled into his stomach.

"What the hell did you just do?!" yelped Mercer. "That was my phone!"

The man continued grinning. "Phones aren't safe for demigods, so it had to go. Still, don't worry. Just wait."

Mercer glared at him as the dragon began to hack and spin its gears in reverse. It coughed up a rectangular object in front of her slightly bigger than her small hands. Seeing that it wasn't covered in stomach acid, she reached down and grabbed it. It glistened as if made of gold and had a screen with a miniature keypad with Greek letters under it. She flipped it over, reading the back. The letters were in Ancient Greek, but she was somehow able to read them.

"leoPhones," the man said cheerfully. "I invented them. Festus transferred all the data from your old phone onto this one. The only difference is that it looks cooler, doesn't attract monsters, and can even text in Greek. It translates to English if you want to talk with a mortal, though."

"Thank you," said Mercer. "I'm sorry about-"

"It's cool. Don't sweat it. Now let's take you to Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron."

_Chiron? _As in Chiron the centaur from mythology?

Mercer followed Manny, Festus, and Mr. Valdez into Camp.

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**A/N:** I know that drakons aren't dragons, but the chapter title sounded cool. Also, I like to think that Leo rebuilt Festus's body and occasionally transfers the head back when Festus wants exercise. I hope all of you enjoyed! :) Please review!


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